Pete Ochs

Entrepreneur

Pete Ochs

10 short sound bites from Pete about his thoughts and discoveries on living out his calling as a Gospel Patron.

10 short sound bites from Pete about his thoughts and discoveries on living out his calling as a Gospel Patron.

01

Hello, I’m…

My name is Pete Ochs and I’m an entrepreneur from Wichita, Kansas interested in creating economic, social, and spiritual capital. I love to ride dirt bikes in the mountains of Colorado.

02

Giving

My father was a farmer and when I was 8 years old I was playing in my father's shop a week before Christmas. I went looking for some wood for my project and found a brand new Radio Flyer Wagon and a big box of apples hidden under a tarp. Of course I thought it was for me. On Christmas Eve my dad told us we needed to run an errand. He went to his shop and uncovered the wagon and asked me to help him put it in the car. I was distraught knowing it was now not for me. We drove to “the other side of town” and delivered the wagon and apples to a poor family with 6 kids. When they saw the wagon, they went crazy and I learned my first lesson in the joy of generosity.

03

God’s Generosity

For the first 40 years of my life I viewed God as a distant Savior that was generous with his Son because he cared for my spiritual being. But I did not view him as being very concerned with my material possessions. When the light went on at the age of 40 and I came to a full understanding of stewardship versus ownership, things changed. When I changed from living for me to living for him, it soon became apparent that God was not only generous, but wise and willing to help me be the best manager of the resources he had entrusted to me.

04

Dangers of Wealth

One of the dangers of wealth is wealth creates complexity and complexity takes your focus away from relationships. This is true for relationships with God, your family, and your friends. If wealth is consumed then it typically harms relationships, but if wealth is stewarded then it can be used to build relationships.

05

Treasuring Jesus

God has granted me both financial success and financial failure. And I believe I have been granted that privilege because I can now see that success is not satisfying and failure is not fatal. God brings various circumstances into our lives so that we can be “mature and complete, not lacking anything” and that our total and only dependency should be on him.

06

I Wish I Knew…

07

My Routine

One key habit that’s powerful in my life is living with the attitude that everyone I meet is a divine appointment. Doing this forces me to ask how I can help or encourage everyone I come across.

08

Giving Decisions

When making giving decisions, my wife and I try to balance giving to both evangelism and mercy because we think the need for both is great. I would say that we have a strong focus on creating sustainability.

09

My Mission

I believe the Christian business community can have great impact on our country and our culture. And that is why I am such a fan of Gospel Patrons. Many of us have the opportunity to use not only our treasure for great Kingdom good, but also our influence and expertise as well.

10

3 Words

If I could choose three words to be remembered by, I’d go with: Vision, Faith, & Courage.